Little to no head, very boozy and fruity smell. Low carbonation, think taste and feel, very sweet, yet extremely strong taste. Similar to a Belgian quad, but definitely not as carbonated and a sweeter taste. Extremely boozy smell. Overall good taste, similar to a barrel aged beer. You can only enjoy it in a small quantity because it is so thick and strong. (358 characters)

This is a really good sipper. I had two in 2013. I bouth six in 2014, and now think i should have bought a case. The fig has gotten more forward after six months, balancing nicely with the sweetness. This beer is best served chilled, not cold or you will be pummeled by the 15%. Believe it. But as it warms, the booziness is subdued by the malt and hops. This beer has a dogfish exclamation point on the cap for a reason. Yowza, am i feeling good? Yes indeed. (459 characters)

The booze on this one is honestly just too much, it just gives this bitter, lingering aftertaste that's really hard to push through. The flavor of the barleywine itself, underneath, is also not interesting enough to make you forget about how hot this one is. It almost feels like this was mixed with vodka, not good. Beyond that, I get some candied, sugary dark fruits, and some very sweet caramel flavors.

This is one slow sipper for sure- the drinkability is really low. The carbonation level is pretty low.

A bit of a miss for me. I know it's fairly well-regarded, but it just didn't hit the right notes for me. (862 characters)

One of the best barley wines I have tasted in a while. Me and my friend always ask for it when we go to a store together. Plus, my buddy loves the high ABV barley wines so this one does the trick at 15%. Very tasty, not too malty as some barley wines tend to be. (262 characters)

This is the 2013 version, can't find a bottle date but about a year and a half of age to it. The smell is incredible. Can hardly taste the 15 percent alcohol but it hits you pretty fast and hard. The aging has done wonders to this beer. Definitely a sipper. (257 characters)

Unique. Super strong! Very flavorful, with a syrup-like thick consistency. Its flavors linger in the mouth long after swallowing. Beautiful orangey-copper in the glass, with virtually no head, but a satisfying carbonation. (226 characters)

I really enjoy DFH and I thought that a barleywine by them would be pretty good.

A - Deep orange color. Pours thick that is slightly opaque. Big white head with good lacing.

S - Strong malt character with alcohol, some hops, and some dark fruits thrown in the mix. Definitely a barleywine that is malt forward and has the muchness that you would expect from the 15% ABV tag.

T - Initially it is complex with mostly the rich malt character holding true, then the alcohol along with some light citrus, herbal hops and then fruity yeast character. There is a boozy character to this beer but with the strong caramel/malt sweetness it is tolerable. The complex fruit is a nice flavor to help balance out the rich malt. There is only a slight hop bitterness but this beer is definitely malty sweet.

M - Huge mouth-feel with higher carbonation. It is heavy on the palate and the high carbonation really tries to bring all of the flavors alive on the tongue. I think it was very good but with the alcohol heat I'm sure that age is the key to this "Olde School" brew.

Overall, a very good representation of the style. I really enjoyed what this beer had to offer but the boozy character and high mouth-feel isn't what I would prefer to drink everyday. It has everything that you would want in an American Barleywine and if you haven't tried one and can tolerate the burn then this would be a great one to try.

Picked up a 12 oz. bottle of this a few weeks back up in Totowa, never having this before. I don't have this style a whole lot and these tend to be a bit too strong for me but I really enjoyed this and felt that this was a solid, textbook example of the style for so many reasons. The alcohol was present but recessed and the flavors were present but not strong enough to drown out each other or the booze in this. Combine that with a slick mouthfeel and this was a winner that I'd love to have again before this winter finally goes away!

Solid pour to this, as the dark orange hue had a good head and just a hint of lacing the stuck around for the duration. Not a lot of carbonation to this as this had the appearance and consistency of a true Barleywine, or even a dark mead. Lots of booze and dark fruit in the nose, as the dates and figs were reinforced with apricot, crystalline sweetness, and honey. Slick and smooth, this went down well without being too sweet or overloaded with grain and barley. The sweetness stuck around in the aftertaste, along with the resin that had a buttery feel to it.

To be fair, this beer was a beast and one bottle would be enough for a sitting even though I could have easily cracked open another. It did not feel like 15% ABV but there was enough here to bowl me over in more than one way. Possibly the best offering outside of the 120 for Dogfish and grand enough to turn me on to the style - if you've never had something of this sort before, this would be an excellent choice to start with. Quite lovely from start to finish! (1,570 characters)

A - Pours a hazy amber/orange. Small head that dies down quickly.S - Great aroma, my first thought was peach, and then alcohol. T - The alcohol flavor is definitely noticeable in this beer. A rare good beer where the alcohol dominates.M - Medium mouth feel, light carbonation.O - Strong barleywines are fairly new to me. This is a good beer that I would like to have again. Like to age it and see what flavors come out when the alcohol dies down. (451 characters)

Pours a rich hazy amber. Certainly smells of figs and dates - tastes like it too. A little more than you'd expect from a barleywine. Not my favorite, but very good nonetheless. At over 15%, it's quite enjoyable, although it may not be for everyone. (248 characters)

Appearance - 4/5Pours a nice, fairly clear deep orange. About a single finger of head upon pouring, dissipates down to a thin layer on the top of the beer. Can see an average amount of carbonation rising up the beer.

Smell - 4.75/5The smell is very strong--when I first poured, I could smell from like 2 feet away. The smell is hard to describe, but I know it smells very similar to Bell's Expedition Stout. They both have this unique, sweet, slightly fruity, very alcoholic smell. The first time I had an Expedition Stout, I wasn't that big a fan of the smell/flavor, but it's grown on me. So now for this beer I can give it quite a high rating. After taking my first sips, I also noticed that the smell had a noticeable metallic tinge to it.

Taste - 4/5Sweet malts, the unique fruity/alcoholic flavor I mentioned above, though it's not as strong in the taste as in was in the smell. The beer has a noticeable metallic taste, but I feel it only slightly detracts from the flavor.

This one pours into the snifter a beautiful copper-brown in color with a small head that leaves as much lacing as it can. Hazy in body all the way through. Huge boozy and dark fruit notes hit the nose at first sniff. The second whiff reveals the dates and figs in a very fruity and nutty aroma that resembles raisins. At first sip, this beer really displays its alcohol and adjunct contents. Big alcohol and slight hop bitterness hits the tongue and then morphs into the dark dates and figs. Again, the fruits turn into a raisin-like flavor and combine with the alcohol to give that classic, alcohol heavy barleywine taste. Mouthfeel is rather thick and this is a really slow sipper due to the alcohol content.

Overall, this is an incredibly strong and complex beer. It really reminds me of DFH Raison d'Extra, except with less offense and aggressive flavors. I really want to take the advice of the label and bury this in my yard for 2 years, but I guess my cellar works fine as well. (1,008 characters)

Pour is a light amber with a half finger head. Smell is very potent alcohol with figs and dates. Bold taste yet very palatable. Similar to the Dogfish 120 in many ways. Overall a fantastic barelywine. (201 characters)

The first taste is first alcohol heavy with a gentle warming of my mouth, and throat upon swallowing. The feel is heavy and slightly syrupy. After the alcohol there is a presence of richer fruits like raisin and fig, some apple. This is definitely a sipper. I like it though, and have put some bottles in the cellar to rest. Cheers! (332 characters)

Fresh this is not an overly hot ale despite the 15% abv. But it is tight and undeveloped fresh. It has great potential and the dates and figs are currently subtle but should become more dominant after several years of aging. I'd cellar this (or follow the instructions on the bottle for burying it) for at least 2 years.

Currently mine is cellaring and my review reflects the 2013 version consumed fresh. (405 characters)

2014 bottle:Lightly hazy light orange brown. Head is nice fluffy white, and stats well across the surface throughout the pour. Nose is a bit of light brown sugar, date and raisin, perhaps a hint of wood, but behind a shroud of alcohol.

Taste is unfortunately alcohol heavy as well. Their is alcohol soaked plum and raisin, some light brown sugar sweetness underneath. The depth seems lacking or obscured, the feel is hit and mildly effervescent.

Gonna have to let this age and retry to see if it mellows out a bit. (522 characters)